Thursday, May 22, 2008

As the young man who comes by to maintain our yard edged our lawn yesterday, a rock flew up, hit a window in our van, and before he could look up, the window had shattered into a plethora of pieces of tinted tones of toasted tans that could be used for millions of mosaic tiles should he have been so inclined…which at the moment he was not! He was really distraught and with head and shoulders hung low he slowly walked to our front door to tell my husband what had happened. As the hours in between have come and gone time has brought the following tale to mind as a reminder that there are some things far more important than a broken window in a vehicle…Grandmothers are supposed to be proud of their grandchildren, right? I am no exception to the rule and with several grandchildren I have a variety of stories I could tell but for the moment I have decided to zero in on only one that stretches back over a matter of a few years.When our grandson was ten years old he was hit in the eye with a rock thrown from the hand of his good friend. One evening the children were waiting on the school playground while their parents were having a meeting in the cafeteria. The kids had all been throwing rocks “just for fun” when our grandson said he realized it was a game that could be dangerous so he had stopped, gone to the swings, and then it happened. Of course it was not intentional but the damage to his eye was permanent leaving our grandson with a blown pupil and a lens so badly damaged it had to be surgically removed a few weeks later. Because of his age a permanent lens implant was not feasible so a prescription contact lens is in use until he becomes an adult. Good news cheered us all when we learned that the retina remained intact and he slowly began to regain his vision even though at the beginning it was fuzzy and blurry. Since he loves sports the use of safety glasses is mandatory, but again we maintain thankfulness that he is able to take part in the things he loves to do. Now at sixteen he has earned the right and privilege to have his driver’s license and his plan for the summer is to attend a Drum Line Camp that I assume is run by the University of Oklahoma where he and his dad spend every possible opportunity on the sidelines observing the pre-home-game practice sessions in Norman. (One of the pictures at the OU site shows our grandson as an observer behind the drum line!) Yes, I am a proud Grandma!…and so you can see why a broken window that can so easily be replaced means so little in the big picture. We have had many lessons in life as to what really matters and while the number of lessons may not yet add up to creating the full mosaic tile, we are well on our way.

“Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done...The things you planned for us...too many to declare.”Psalms 40:5

FROM THE BIBLE...

THE SCRIPTURES:Durations & Purpose of the Old Testament Galatians 4:21-31
Completeness & Authority of Scriptures 2 Timothy 3:16-17
THE PLAN OF SALVATION:Necessity of Doing All the Will of God Matthew 7:21-23
Necessity of Faith John 3:16
Necessity of Repentance Luke 13:3
Necessity of Confession of Faith Matthew 10:32-33
Necessity of Method of Baptism Matthew 28:18-20
THE CHURCH:Importance of Membership Colossians 1:18
Importance of Unity John 17:20-21
Importance of True Worship Matthew 15:9
Lord’s Supper in Worship Matthew 26:26-29
Music in Worship Matthew 26:30
Giving of Our Means In Worship I Corinthians 16:1-2
Prayer in Worship Acts 2:42
Names Members Should Wear Acts 5:14
Names of the Church Collectively I Corinthians 1:2
Organization of the Church Acts 14:23
THE CHRISTAN’S LIFE:The Nature and Quality 2 Peter 1:5-11
Requirement of Faithfulness 2 Peter 2:20-22